Hot Docs

Budrus is the gripping story of one man’s attempt, through 10 months of peaceful protest, to protect his agricultural Palestinian village from being arbitrarily divided by an Israeli government-built barrier. Ayed Morrar quit his comfortable job at the Palestinian Authority when he learned about the government’s plan to butcher his beloved Budrus and its olive groves. As Morrar launches his campaign of Gandhian-style protests, we meet his daughter, who at 15 challenges her father by launching a women’s contingent that quickly moves to the front lines. Other characters include an Israeli mathematics professor who begins as a reluctant bystander but soon transforms into an activist; Yasmine Levi, the only female officer on duty who confronts the Palestinian women, at times using brute force; and Ahmed Awwad, a Hamas leader who speaks of the importance of people coming together without arms. Will Morrar’s strategy of non-violence be enough to stop the bulldozers? - Shannon Abel

Media Coverage

NOW Magazine (4-star review)